AMT member and Registered Medical Assistant Lori Deer of Farmington, MO, has always had a passion for teaching and helping people. That passion started with four years active duty in the US Navy as a hospital corpsman. In that role, Lori aided in the prevention and treatment of disease and injury and assisted health care professionals in providing medical care to naval personnel and their families.
After active duty, Lori served for 16 years in the U.S. Naval Reserve. To keep current in her field, Lori decided to pick up some extra credentials, including Registered Medical Assistant, Emergency Medical Technician, Certified Nurse Assistant and Pharmacy Technician. She understood that getting certifications for the skills developed while on active and reserve duty gave her an edge in the service and prepared her for medical work after the military, which is why she chose to get her AMT RMA Certification.
Lori says “AMT was a natural choice for certification because of the recognition of formal Armed Forces medical services training programs.” The AMT military route offers highly qualified, skilled individuals the option to get certified based on military education, training and experience.
When she was working as an RMA, Lori was active in the Missouri state society meetings and attended a national meeting in Chicago in 2003. She found these meetings to be an enjoyable way to earn continuing education credits while meeting interesting people.
Lori says “AMT was a natural choice for certification because of the recognition of formal Armed Forces medical services training programs.”
Lori’s 20+ years of military service in the medical field has been an asset to her civilian medical positions. Once, as part of a team helping a patient who was a former Marine, Lori was able to share a perspective on what proved to be the most effective therapeutic approach to the patient who seemed to be resisting the team’s efforts. Her team members wanted to provide an abundance of assistance when helping him walk, but Lori told the team “This patient is a Marine, and he will be fiercely independent. He is going to need to do this on his own, and we just need to be there to catch him when he falls.” With Lori’s help and his own determination, he was able to quit smoking, lose weight and turn his health around.
Today, Lori describes herself as a professional grandmother. She maintains her RMA certification, and says it has been invaluable when it comes to taking care of children. Lori enjoys teaching her grandkids about preventing accidents and illnesses, promoting fitness and treating injuries when they happen.
Join AMT in congratulating Lori, a skilled veteran who believes in the value of certification to help ensure that medical assistants are recognized and respected professionals.